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    • Archive for December, 2007

    Amma and Fa

    Saturday, December 15th, 2007

    In Arabic, how do you mention a group, but also talk about specific individuals (or sub-groups) within that group? Enter amma (أمَّا) and fa (فَ). Amma singles out a sub-group or individual, and fa mentions something about them. You can translate amma as “as for,” and fa as “then,” or “therefore,” or “thus.”

    The Number System From 3-10

    Saturday, December 8th, 2007

    The Arabic number system from 3 to 9 follows a few simple rules: the ‘adad (number) can take any case, and is opposite in gender to the ma’duwd (counted object); the ma’duwd is plural and majruwr. Some examples clarify these rules. The opposite-gender applies to all numbers with 3-9 (eg. 13-19, 233-239) and not just 3-9.

    Questions, Questions

    Saturday, December 1st, 2007

    The same questions (or variants) occur frequently in every-day conversations. Which questions are these? Learn them, use them, and master them!